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Interactive Associations of Vascular Risk and ?-Amyloid Burden With Cognitive Decline in Clinically Normal Elderly Individuals: Findings From the Harvard Aging Brain Study.

ABSTRACT: Importance:Identifying asymptomatic individuals at high risk of impending cognitive decline because of Alzheimer disease is crucial for successful prevention of dementia. Vascular risk and ?-amyloid (A?) pathology commonly co-occur in older adults and are significant causes of cognitive impairment. Objective:To determine whether vascular risk and A? burden act additively or synergistically to promote cognitive decline in clinically normal older adults; and, secondarily, to evaluate the unique influence of vascular risk on prospective cognitive decline beyond that of commonly used imaging biomarkers, including A? burden, hippocampal volume, fludeoxyglucose F18-labeled (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), and white matter hyperintensities, a marker of cerebrovascular disease. Design, Setting, and Participants:In this longitudinal observational study, we examined clinically normal older adults from the Harvard Aging Brain Study. Participants were required to have baseline imaging data (FDG-PET, A?-PET, and magnetic resonance imaging), baseline medical data to quantify vascular risk, and at least 1 follow-up neuropsychological visit. Data collection began in 2010 and is ongoing. Data analysis was performed on data collected between 2010 and 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures:Vascular risk was quantified using the Framingham Heart Study general cardiovascular disease (FHS-CVD) risk score. We measured A? burden with Pittsburgh Compound-B PET. Cognition was measured annually with the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite. Models were corrected for baseline age, sex, years of education, and apolipoprotein E ?4 status. Results:Of the 223 participants, 130 (58.3%) were women. The mean (SD) age was 73.7 (6.0) years, and the mean (SD) follow-up time was 3.7 (1.2) years. Faster cognitive decline was associated with both a higher FHS-CVD risk score (??=?-0.064; 95% CI, -0.094 to -0.033; P?

SUBMITTER: Rabin JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6143121 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interactive Associations of Vascular Risk and β-Amyloid Burden With Cognitive Decline in Clinically Normal Elderly Individuals: Findings From the Harvard Aging Brain Study.

Rabin Jennifer S JS Schultz Aaron P AP Hedden Trey T Viswanathan Anand A Marshall Gad A GA Kilpatrick Emily E Klein Hannah H Buckley Rachel F RF Yang Hyun-Sik HS Properzi Michael M Rao Vaishnavi V Kirn Dylan R DR Papp Kathryn V KV Rentz Dorene M DM Johnson Keith A KA Sperling Reisa A RA Chhatwal Jasmeer P JP

JAMA neurology 20180901 9

<h4>Importance</h4>Identifying asymptomatic individuals at high risk of impending cognitive decline because of Alzheimer disease is crucial for successful prevention of dementia. Vascular risk and β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology commonly co-occur in older adults and are significant causes of cognitive impairment.<h4>Objective</h4>To determine whether vascular risk and Aβ burden act additively or synergistically to promote cognitive decline in clinically normal older adults; and, secondarily, to evaluat ...[more]

PMID: 29799986

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Project description:ImportanceThe Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer disease (A4) Study is an ongoing prevention trial in clinically normal older individuals with evidence of elevated brain amyloid. The large number of participants screened with amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) and standardized assessments provides an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate factors associated with elevated brain amyloid.ObjectiveTo investigate the association of elevated amyloid with demographic and lifestyle factors, apolipoprotein E (APOE), neuropsychological testing, and self- and study partner reports of cognitive function.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study included screening data in the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer Disease (A4) Study collected from April 2014 to December 2017 and classified by amyloid status. Data were was analyzed from 2018 to 2019 across 67 sites in the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan and included 4486 older individuals (age 65-85 years) who were eligible for amyloid PET (clinically normal [Clinical Dementia Rating = 0] and cognitively unimpaired [Mini-Mental State Examination score, ≥25; logical memory IIa 6-18]).Main outcomes and measuresScreening demographics, lifestyle variables, APOE genotyping, and cognitive testing (Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite), self- and study partner reports of high-level daily cognitive function (Cognitive Function Index). Florbetapir amyloid PET imaging was used to classify participants as having elevated amyloid (Aβ+) or not having elevated amyloid (Aβ-).ResultsAmyloid PET results were acquired for 4486 participants (mean [SD] age, 71.29 [4.67] years; 2647 women [59%]), with 1323 (29.5%) classified as Aβ+. Aβ+ participants were slightly older than Aβ-, with no observed differences in sex, education, marital or retirement status, or any self-reported lifestyle factors. Aβ+ participants were more likely to have a family history of dementia (3320 Aβ+ [74%] vs 3050 Aβ- [68%]) and at least 1 APOE ε4 allele (2602 Aβ+ [58%] vs 1122 Aβ- [25%]). Aβ+ participants demonstrated worse performance on screening Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite results and reported higher change scores on the Cognitive Function Index.Conclusions and relevanceAmong a large group of older individuals screening for an Alzheimer disease (AD) prevention trial, elevated brain amyloid was associated with family history and APOE ε4 allele but not with multiple other previously reported risk factors for AD. Elevated amyloid was associated with lower test performance results and increased reports of subtle recent declines in daily cognitive function. These results support the hypothesis that elevated amyloid represents an early stage in the Alzheimer continuum and demonstrate the feasibility of enrolling these high-risk participants in secondary prevention trials aimed at slowing cognitive decline during the preclinical stages of AD.

Project description:ImportanceAssessing the ability of Alzheimer disease neuroimaging markers to predict short-term cognitive decline among clinically normal (CN) individuals is critical for upcoming secondary prevention trials using cognitive outcomes.ObjectiveTo determine whether neuroimaging markers of β-amyloid (Aβ) and neurodegeneration (ND) are independently or synergistically associated with longitudinal cognitive decline in CN individuals.Design, setting, and participantsAcademic medical center longitudinal natural history study among 166 CN individuals (median age, 74 years; 92 women).Main outcomes and measuresThe Aβ status was determined with Pittsburgh Compound B-positron emission tomography, while ND was assessed using 2 a priori measures, hippocampus volume (magnetic resonance imaging) and glucose metabolism (positron emission tomography with fludeoxyglucose F 18), extracted from Alzheimer disease-vulnerable regions. Based on imaging markers, CN individuals were categorized into the following preclinical Alzheimer disease stages: stage 0 (Aβ-/ND-), stage 1 (Aβ(+)/ND-), stage 2 (Aβ(+)/ND(+)), and suspected non-Alzheimer disease pathology (Aβ-/ND(+)). Cognition was assessed with a composite of neuropsychological tests administered annually.ResultsThe Aβ(+) CN individuals were more likely to be classified as ND+: 59.6% of Aβ(+) CN individuals were ND(+), whereas 31.9% of Aβ- CN individuals were ND(+) (odds ratio, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.44-7.02; P = .004). In assessing longitudinal cognitive performance, practice effects were evident in CN individuals negative for both Aβ and ND, whereas diminished practice effects were observed in CN individuals positive for either Aβ or ND. Decline over time was observed only in CN individuals positive for both Aβ and ND, and decline in this group was significantly greater than that in all other groups (P < .001 for all). A significant interaction term between Aβ and ND confirmed that this decline was greater than the additive contributions of Aβ and ND (P = .04).Conclusions and relevanceThe co-occurrence of Aβ and ND accelerates cognitive decline in CN individuals. Therefore, both factors are important to consider in upcoming secondary prevention trials targeting CN individuals at high risk for progression to the symptomatic stages of Alzheimer disease.

Dataset Information

Interactive Associations of Vascular Risk and ?-Amyloid Burden With Cognitive Decline in Clinically Normal Elderly Individuals: Findings From the Harvard Aging Brain Study.

Publications

Interactive Associations of Vascular Risk and β-Amyloid Burden With Cognitive Decline in Clinically Normal Elderly Individuals: Findings From the Harvard Aging Brain Study.

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